Door-closing device



Nov. 11 i 1924; 1,514,786

1 R. A. PODR`ATZ DOOR CLOSING DEVIYCE Filed Dec. 1l 1923 Patented Non'. ll, lgZll.

RENNALD A. ODRATZQOF HARROLD, SU'UTI DAGTL, ASSGNGP 0F NETURTH T0 FORREST L. HUGHES, 03:

DOOR-GLOSNG DEVCE.

Application filed December To all whom fit/mcy concern:

Be it known that l, RENNALD A. Pom-maiz, a citizen of the United States, residing at Harrold, in the countyv ot Hughes and State ot South; laliota, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Boor-Closing Devices, ci' which thel following is a speoiiication, reference being Vhad to the accompanying drawings. Y

rIhis inif'ention relates to door closing or checking devices, and particularlj7 to those door closing devices in which a springfis used resisting the opening ot the door but. acting to urge the door to a closed position.

@ne et the objects ot this intention is to provide a rei-j' simple. device ot this character which may be easily applied to barn, house or other doorsand which is so constructed that after the door has been opened and released it will cause the door to close quickly until the door is nearly closed and will then cause the relatively slower closing of the door, or which may be so adjusted that the door may be caused to close slowly at iirst and then cause the quick and lirin closing of the door.

A further object is to pro-Vide a device oft this character by which the door' may be held open at any desired position.

A still 'further object tol provide a device ot this character which may be manually controlled so as to permit the door to close very readily it desired.

Another object is to provide a! device ot this eharacter which is so constriicted that it may be accommodated,to various exigencies oi service. i

@ther objects will appear in the course or' the ollowing description.

My intention. is illustrated in the acconn panying dravwinU wherein ligure l is a fragmentary tront elevation ot a door casing and door with my door close-r applied. thereto;

Figure f2 is a top plan vview oit the construction illustrated in Figure l, the door casing being in section; n

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional View through the cylinder 2l showing in. elevation the piston, piston rod and allied parts;

Figure it is a Vertical section through the casing 39; j

Figure 5 is a fragmentary View of the up- 1, 1923. Serial No. 678,034.

per portion of the cylinder with the petcocli and the. ineans for operating the petcock;

Figure G is an enlarged elevation ot the ineens for locking the door in open position, the guide 2st and the door being in section;

Figurel Tis 'traginentary top plan View oi' the arni i7 showing its connection to the shaft lll;

Figure S is afragmentary sectional View through the petcocl and its supporting bracket showing the petcock closed.

Referring to these drawings, designates a door as, ytor instance, a barn door oic any ordinaryr and suitable construction. and l5 the janib or post ot the door casing and to which the door is hinged by the hinges t). Attached to the door ainb or door casing at the hinged end of the door in. anyy suitable inanner is a plate l() which' has outwardly projecting ears ll and the face oit thisA plate is provided with the outwardly projecting ear l2 and an outwardlj7 projecting ear i3. The projecting ear or lug l2 has an opening' through it 'for the passage of a roel; shaft la. The ear 13 has al hole 15 cut in it for the passage ot the shaft lll, and the. lower end ol the plate l0 is "formed with au outwardljvv projecting lug lt which orins aplat i'orin or shelt upon which the lower end of the shaft sets and rotates', the lower end oit this shaft lt having a head lil resting upon this shelf. The upper end of the shatt 14C has attached to it to oscillate with it in a inanner hereafter described an arni 17 which extends parallel 'to 'the door when the door is closeih'the cuter end of this arni being angularlyv bent. Surrouneing this shaft le is a coiled torsion spring 18 attached at one end to the plate l0, as at 19, and at the other end to the shaft, as at 19a. Preferably this arni is anwularljfv bent. so that that portion ot the arin adjacent the shaft ist will be in line with the axis ot the cylinder 2li.

ttachedto the tace of' the door is a plate 2O which ctries upon it a cylinder 2l, this cylinder being closed' at that end adjacent the hinge ot the door. Operating within this cylinderA 2l is a piston 222 carried by a piston rod 23. This piston is yconnected to the angular end et arin 18. The end ot the rod 23 passes through a guide 2li.

The closed end of the cylinder is provided wit-h an inlet valve 25 of any suit-able construction which is urged to a closed position by a light spring, but as the piston moves outward through the cylinder 2l or away trom the hinged edge of the door the pis'- ton will suck air in through the opening 25. The cylinder has an air outlet opening 2G which communicates with the exterior airl through a petcoclt 27 which may be of any suitable or ordinary form provided with the usual valve 28, this valve having an arm 29.

Mounted in guides 30 and 31 is a reciprocatable rod 32 whose end may be caused to approximate the arm 29 so as to shift the petcoclr. This rod 32 extends through the guides S and 3l and is then bent to engage with the plunger rod 23. Thus as the plunger moves into the cylinder, the rod 32 will shift through its guides and strike the arm 29 and shift the valve of the petcocl to a fully closed position. A spring 33 urges the petcock to a position where it is nearly or fully open and an adjustable stop 34 is provided whereby to control the degree to which the petcock will move under the action of the spring.

vWith this construction it will be obvious that as the door is opened the spring 18 will be caused to contract. As the door opens, the plunger rod 23 moves through its guides andthe piston is drawn away from the closed end of the cylinder. As the iston moves away from the closed end of the cylinder, the valveA and the petcoclrwill open to permit the inlet of air. When the door is released after having been opened, the spring 18 urges the door to a closed position and as the door closes, the piston will move toward the closed end of the cylinder. y The air cannot escape through the valve 25 and the only wayv for the air to escape is through the relatively small aperture of the petcock valve. Therefore, this air which is between the piston kand the closed end of the cylinder will somewhat check the closing movement of the door. l/Vhen the door is very nearly closech'however, the rod 32 will strike the arm 29 of the petcock or any other part that is connected therewith and this will turn the valve 28 to a nearly closed position and then the spring will act to shift the door to its fully closed position.

The petcock is preferably provided with a thumb piece 35 whereby the petcoclr may be operated by hand so that if at any time Y it be desired to cause the full closing of the door either from the front of the door or from the back of the dooi'7 the petcock may be fully opened. This will permit the door to be shifted quickly to its fully open Aposition against the action of the spring 18 or to cause the door to close quickly or slam. f

For the purpose of holding the door in a partially open positionJ l may provide the plunger rod 32, which plunger rod is preferably rectangular or square in cross section, with a series` of notches 36, and provide a latch of any suitable character mounted in the guide 24 for the rod. l have illustrated for this purpose a latch consist ing of a. spring actuated bolt which engages the notches 36 but which may be retracted by means of a cord 88 engaged with the lever 38, whichin turn is engaged with a bolt. 'lhe bolt may! be held out of engagement with the notchesr 3G. by means of the set screw 36a whenever desired. rlhe cord 38, as illustrated in Figure l, may pass down the door framev and then extend outside or tlirough the door frame to an operating handle so that the latch may be withdrawiifrom the inside and outside lof the door. By turning the set screw 36a, the bolt may be held permanently withdrawn. By means of the bolt the door may be held open to any desired angle.

Preferably the plate l0 will be providedl with a cover 39 having ears 40 aligning with' the ears ll and through which bolts may pass to hold the cover closed upon the plate and thus protect the spring 18 and allied parts from the elements. Preferably the arm 19 will be attached to the upper end of the rod lll by forming this rod with a head tl. rllhe arm 18 has a head 42 which embraces the head 4l and the confronting or contacting faces of the two rods will be formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending openings t3 into which a screw may be placed and thus the arm 19 may be adjusted to any angular position with relation to the axis of the rod lll.

lt will be obvious that with this construction the shaft 1li' might be disposed with its head Lil downward to engage the arm 19, or the arm 19 might be disposed above the plunger rod 23 and the plate lO be mounted so that the headed end Lil of the shaft lll is downward or upward, whichever is most desirable. ln other words, all of these parts may be readily adjusted to suit exigencies of operation and construction. l

lVhile preferably the petcocl 27 is so arH ranged that it is normally open, as illustrated in Figure 3, permitting the quick movement of the piston inward and the quick closing of the door up to a certain point and then the slow closing of the door due to the turning of the petcock from the position shown in Figure 3 to that shown iu Figure 8, it will be obvious that the petcoclr might be differently adjusted so as to be partially closed while the piston was ineving toward the petcoclr and then be shifted to a fully open position by the rod 32 when the piston 22 had arrived nearly at the the p' end oit the cylinder. It is obvious that this is a mere mattei' of adjustmenty and that, therefore, my mechanism is capable of use in either Way.

l claim i l.` A door closer comprising a supporting member adapted to be 'attached to the door casing, a shalt mounted inthe supporting member, a spring resisting rotation ot the sha/lit in one direction7 a supporting member moimted on the door, a cylinder thereon having an inlet and an outlet opening, a piston operating in the cylinder and having a piston rod7 an arm attached to the shaft and extendingv across the door and piyotally engaged with the piston rod, an inwardly opening valve controlling inlet to the cylinder,k a valve controlling outlet from. the! rcylinder and yieldingly held in' a partially openposition?` and means controlled by the piston rod oifiiilly opening said Valve as l in rod nears the end of the cylinder harina' inlet and outlet openings rand as the ED door nears its closed position.

A, door closer 'comprising a supporting member adapted to be attached to the door casing, a shaft support-ed thereby7 a spring resisting rotation or the shattin one direction,l a supporting member adapted tobe mounted on the door, a cylinder thereon haring an inletand an outlet opening at one end7 a piston operating in the cylinder and having a piston rod, an arm attached to the shaft` dapted to extend across the hinged portion or the door and having piv otal engagementwith the piston roda an inwardly opening valve controlling inlet or air to the cylinderj a valve controlling outlet and yieldingly held in a partially open position, and a'member shiftable with the piston rod and adapted as the piston nears the valyed end of the cylinder and the door 'i is nearly closed to enga-ge said outlet Valve and fully open it.

A door closer comprising a supporting nwmbex adapted to be attached to a door casino' a sln'ii't supported thereby and adapted to t tend parallel to the sideof the door, a f-ipri u coiled around the shaft and attached to said supporting member and yieldingly re sisting rotation ofthe shaft in a direction to open thedoor, a supporting member adapted to be mounted on the door and haring` a cylinder thereom the cylinder being formed 'with an inlet and an outlet opening at one enit, a piston operating therein and having a piston rod, an arm attached tosaid shaft and adapted to extend transversely across the hinged margin of the door and pivotal engaged With the piston rod, yan inair to said cylinder, a valve controlling the outlet theretromfandyieldingly held in a partially open position5 means for manually opening the valve, and means actuated irardly opening valve controlling inlet or' by said piston rod operatively engaging the valve "as the piston nears that end of the cylinder having the inlet and outlet openings; f. e

il. it. door closer comprising a supporting member adapted to be attachedV to a door casing, a shait supported thereby and adapted to extend parallel to the side of 'the door, a spring coiled around the shaft and attached rto said supporting member and yieldingly resisting rotation of the shaft in a di rection to open the doort a supporting kmember adapted to be mounted on the door and haring a cylinder thereon, the cylinder being formed With an inlet and an outlet openo at one end, a` piston operating therein and having a piston rod, an arm attached yto said sha-tt and adapted to extend transversely across the hinged margin or the door and ypiyotally engaged with the piston rod, an inwardly opening Valve controlling inlet of air to said cylinder, a valve controlling the outlet therefrom and yieldingly held in a partially open position, means for manualb.r opening the Valve, and means actuated h5 said piston rod operatively engaging the valve as thepiston nears that end of the cylinder haring the i'nletfand outletopenings said means comprising a rod attached to and movable with the piston rod and eX tending parallelthereto. i i

L door closer comprising a supporting member adapted to be attached to al dooll casing, a. shaiit supported therebyk and adapted to entend parallel to' the side of the door7 a spring coiled around the shaft and attached to said supporting member and yieldingly resisting rotation of the shaft in a direction to openthe door7 a supporting meml lapted to be mounted on the door and ng a cylinder thereon, the cylinder beg formed with an inlet and an outlet openir, at one end, a piston operating therein and having a piston rod, an arm attached to said shaft and adapted to extendvtransyersely across the hinged margin ol the door and piifotally engaged with the piston rod, an inwardly opening valve controlling inlet olA air to said cylinder, a valve controlling the outlet tl'ieretroni and yieldingly held in partially open position, means 'for manually opening the Valve, means actuated by said piston rod operatively engaging the valve as the piston nears that end or ythe cylii'ider having the inletl and outlet openings, and meansengaging with the piston for latchina it in a position with the piston more or less Withdrawn romthe inlet end `i the cylinder whereby to latch the door in a partially opened position. 6. fr door closer comprising a supporting member adapted to be attached to a door casing, a shaft supported thereby and adapted to extend parallel to the side ot the door, a spring coiled around the shaft and attachedy to said supporting member and yieldingly resisting rotation of the shaft in a direction to open the door, a supporting member adapted to be mounted onthe door and having a cylinder thereon, the cylinder being formed with an inlet and an` outlet opening at one end, a piston -operating therein and-having a piston rod, an arm attached to said shaft and adapted to extend transversely across the hinged margin of the door and pivotally engaged with the piston rod, an inwardly Yopening valve controlling inlet of air to f saidV cylinder, a valve controlling the outlet therefrom and yieldingly held in a partially open position, means for manuallyY opening the valve, means actuated hy said piston rod operatively engaging the valve as the 'piston nears that end of the cylinder having the inlet and outlet openings, means engaging with the piston for latching it in a position with the piston more or less withdrawn from the inlet end of the cylinder whereby to latch the d-oor in a partiallyT opened position, said means comprising notches on the piston rod, and a manually lactuated latch mounteduponthe supporting member and adapted to engage said notches.

' 7. A door closer comprising a supporting member adapted-to be attached to a door casing and having,k outwardly projecting ears, one above the other, the lowermost ear' being slotted inward toward the plate, a shaft passing through the openings in the ears, a lug formed upon the plate below the end of the shaft and upon which the lower end of the shaft rests and rotates, a coiled spring attached one end to the plate yand at the other end to the shaft and acting to resist the rotation of the shaft in one direction, an arm mounted upon the vshaft for angular adjustment around the shaft, a plate adapted to be mounted upon the face of the door and having an air chamber, that end of the air chamber adjacent the hingev of the door having means for admitting air and permitting the es- /cape of air, the last named means includy outlet and inlet end of 'the air chamber.

8. A door closer comprising a supporting member adapted to be attached to a door casing, a shaft mounted in the supporting member, a spring resisting rotation of the shaft in one direction, a supporting member mounted on the door, a cylinder thereon having an Ainlet and an outlet opening, a piston operating in the cylinder and having a piston rod, an arm attached to the shaft and extending across the door and pivotally engaged with the piston rod, an inwardly opening valve controllinginlet fromthe cylinder, a valve controlling outlet from the. cylinder and yieldingly held in a vertical position, means for fully opening said valve as the piston rod nears the end of the cylinder having inlet and outlet openings and as the door nears its closed position, a spring actuated latch adapted to engage the piston rod and hold it from movement, manually operable means for temporarily withdrawing said latchand to permit the operation of the piston'rod, and means for locking the latch out of engagement with the piston rod to permit the free movement of the piston rod.

9. A door closer including a cylinder, a piston operating within the cylinder, the

l cylinder being adapted to be mounted upon a door, means connected to the rdoor casing and to the. piston to cause the move'- ment of the piston in ,one direction through the cylinder upon the opening of the door and the movement of the piston in the other direction upon the closing of the door, a petcock carried at one end of the cylinder,

a spring holding the petcock in anormal position, and means moving with the piston and carried thereby adapted to engage the petcock as the piston nears the petcoek end of the cylinder to cause the. movement of the petcock in one direction, and a spring acting to urge the door to a closed position. l0. A door closing mechanism including a cylinder adapted to be mounted upon the door and having a piston and a pis- Vton rod operating therein, a spring adapted to 'be mounted upon the door casing and having an arm engageable with the piston rod to therebycause the movement of the lpiston in one direction as the door is opened and the movement of the piston in the other direction as it is closed, a petcock mounted upon one'end of the cylinder and having a rotatable valve having an arm projecting' therefrom, and a rod operatively connected to the piston and moving therewith, said rod as the piston nears kone end .e of the cylinder engaging the arm of the petcock to shift the petcock.

lin. testimony whereof I hereunto affixr my signature.

RENNALD A. PODRATZ. 

